There’s a lot of hype for the coastal artists, and yeah, we get why, but there’s a side to the unsuspecting midwest where pockets of liberal art hubs hold space for the weirdos and outliers. Sure Hollywood is great, but I’m going to take that LA, and raise you a MKE. Watch out New York City, here comes St. Paul. Though it may seem an unlikely place to get inspired, many artists and creatives swear by the midwest’s wide open spaces and shifting seasons as a best kept secret. With art tends to come marginalized communities, and in conservative states it’s important to find safe spaces as a queer artist. Let’s give some love to those making room for LGBTQIA+ folk and female-presenting Great Lakes dwellers, artsy women and queer-owned style.
Amano Print House (Appleton, WI)
First up, nestled in this NE Wisconsin city of 75,000 people is the woman-owned and operated shop, Amano Print House. The brick and mortar building acts as a retail shop, a screenprinting workspace, and an event venue. Founded in 2018 by Mia Russel, the shop has been owned and operated by Elle Crowe since 2022, with help from friends and family in the Appleton arts community. On the retail side of the print shop, you’ll find a unique and eclectic collection of goodies such as zines from local authors, art prints, hand-printed clothing, vintage pieces, handmade ceramics, and more. Amano also does embroidery, vinyl printing, custom design work, and has been a space for art nights featuring local poets and creatives over the years. The shop teams up with local businesses often for social justice efforts, most recently showing up in a big way for their MN neighbors. In February, Amano, along with other Appleton creatives and businesses, set to work designing, printing, and donating hundreds of anti-ICE shirts and posters throughout the Fox Valley cities. The event was a huge success, drawing people from all over the surrounding area. All proceeds went to organizations such as the Greater Longfellow Neighbor Relief Fund, a Minnesotan organization providing living expense relief (rent, utilities, transport, groceries, etc) to those affected by ICE operations. Amano’s success was built brick by brick through loved ones showing up for each other on the belief that they can make a difference, a true example of what can be accomplished when working together for the greater good.
Women and Children First (Chicago, IL)
One of the longest-running and largest feminist bookstores sits smack dab in the windy city, the Women and Children First bookstore. The shop was opened in 1979 by Ann Christophersen and Linda Bubon, both English Literature graduate students with the goal of uplifting women’s voices. The women then sold the bookstore to long-time booksellers Lynn Mooney and Sarah Hollenbeck in 2014 who continue the powerful mission of providing diverse literature to Chicago communities. The queer-owned Chicago bookstore keeps a packed calendar of events including weekly morning children’s book readings, book clubs, and local author meet and greets. W&CF’s book club topics all stem from encouraging diversity, such as banned books, women’s health, and BIPOC authors. In 2005, the Women’s Voices Fund was established to fund programming at the bookstore. The shop works with Chicago Books to Women in Prison, a volunteer-based organization providing free books to incarcerated women and trans people all across the country. Women and Children First shelve authors with diverse backgrounds who represent the marginalized societies, helping those voices get as loud as possible. Hit them up next time you’re in the city.
Strange Matter (Lansing, MI)
Now a flourishing three-location business, Strange Matter is a collection of Lansing-based coffee shops owned and operated by Cara Nader, a seasoned barista whose side hobbies include rescuing and rehoming stray cats. The shop turns out gorgeous lattes, handmade pastries, and roast their own beans, and have also become known for their philanthropic role in the Lansing community. They took off a few years ago when their anti-hate pride frog donuts went viral. Consistently this shop has shown up for worthy causes from every angle, donating coffee and raising money via raffles and donation matches. Strange Matter has been an aid in immigration housing support, disabled animal care, minimum wage raise petitions, anti-gun violence, period product donations, SA survivor awareness and support, LGBTQIA+ rights activism, and so much more. Truly a fixture of the Great Lakes city, Strange Matter plans to keep holding space for its people.
Queermunity (Minneapolis, MN)
Founders Hilary Otey and Kayla Barth run their two-year-old queer community hub with a clear mission: to thread the LGBTQIA+ Minnesotans’ resources into a communal meeting space. Queermunity is a Black and queer woman-owned business featuring a cafe, a rentable venue, and a meeting space for all kinds of fantastic resources. The building has an art gallery where monthly artists are featured, a coworking space with desks to rent, a play space with video games and art supplies, a donation-based free library, a quarterly makers market, and a cafe with coffee and snacks. Community members can benefit from the Resilience program, a system set up to help LGBTQIA+ folk navigate healthcare, relationships, work, and general support through the life experience as a queer person in the midwest. Their calendar is packed with events all built on enriching the community. Queermunity hosts book clubs, senior LGBTQIA+ coffee hour, health insurance sign up sessions, gender-affirming social clubs, bike rides, yoga classes, open mic nights, the list goes on and on. Their connections are endless, always adding more to the community board. It’s also a huge space so if you’re someone who likes to stretch out when you work, Queermunity is a must in the Twin Cities area.
La Finca Coffee House (St Francis, WI)
Owned by sisters Lizeth and Janeth Zorrilla, La Finca Coffee House sits along the coast of Lake Michigan just south of the city of Milwaukee. The two were inspired by a trip to Mexico where they spent a few weeks meeting with family members at the generations-old farm, sharing their love for coffee and the land. In 2017, La Finca Coffee House was founded and continues to thrive today under the Zorrilla sisters’ management. Their high reputation comes from the in house-roasted coffee that is imported straight from their grandfather’s farm along with another woman-owned farm in Oaxaca, Mexico. The cafe is founded on a central goal to connect cultures and grow relationships over a good cuppa, but the work doesn’t stop there. They’ve proven their commitment to bettering the community through fundraisers like the Hanan Relief Group (an MKE-based organization finding shelter for Palestinian immigrants), music nights at the cafe, and providing free beverages for participants of protests or events such as May Day and Milwaukee Zine Fest.
As cost of living expenses rise, many young people are looking for cheaper alternatives to the big cities known for their art culture. At the same time, midwestern cities are catching up to the need for creative and accepting spaces. Recent years have brought many new businesses run by young entrepreneurs hoping to shift the political landscape one coffee shop and bookstore at a time. Community can be found in even the most unsuspecting of places, and sometimes that place is next to a Culver’s and Menard’s.
